


Mountain Floor

by Squishy_Suga



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: All you need to know is, F/M, Felix is Colonello's son from before becoming an Arcobaleno, M/M, RAREPAIR HEAVEN, Reborn and Colonello love each other, This AU is very complicated, Tsuna is a girl, You'll love him, however, trust me - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 15:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15643704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squishy_Suga/pseuds/Squishy_Suga
Summary: After fighting with the German military against the Russians, Colonello and his son return to Japan to recover and make up for lost time. It's a story of adjustment and just what good can come when you get over the mountains that block your path.





	Mountain Floor

**Mountain Floor**

The sun in Namimori was bright as they stepped out of the car after being in it for hours. The trip from the airport took them three hours. After spending months out on the battlefield, and weeks stuck in the cold of Russia’s winter without basic necessities, and a few more in the hospital, civilization was almost a foreign concept. Colonello and Felix bore the same expressions as they looked upon the house in front of them, both unable to believe it was over. They looked at each other and noticed their looks were the same.

“Are you guys just going to stare at each other, or are we going to go inside to get out of the cold?” Hibari asked. He was carrying a few things in his hands and under his arms. “Honestly, you’re just asking to get sick…Get going!”

Colonello stepped forward and Felix followed behind him. The house was new to Colonello’s eyes, a recent choice to accommodate space with having an addition to their family. It was a single story building, nice in size, with fencing around the sides and back that indicated to them they would have a backyard of some sort. The door flung open as they walked up to it and Celia ran out of it to grab onto her father. “Welcome home, Daddy!”

He patted the top of her head gently, being careful of his hands. “Thank you…”

“Come on!!” She turned around and ran back inside. “You have to see it!!”

Felix followed behind Colonello into the house and took a look around. It looked spacious and warm, and compared to the temperature outside, it was  _ definitely _ warm. 

Hibari set their things down by the door. “Nice little place he picked out for you guys…The others did a really good job getting it set up for you.” He walked back outside to get more things.

The first thing Colonello did when he had walked away was took a look at the backyard. He stepped out and into the grass only to be tackled by a giant mess of excited chocolate brown fur. While usually the weight of the dog would not have overwhelmed him, months of muscle and weight loss gave the mutt the advantage, and Colonello found himself lying in the grass, bombarded by dog slobber. “You scoundrel! You rascal! You missed me, didn’t you boy?” He laughed and wrestled with the dog, trying to sit up. “You big ass dog…You held out on me, didn’t you? I left and you sprouted into a giant!”

Felix stepped out cautiously. “That’s a huge dog…”

“This is Scout! We got him for Celia for Christmas last year, and he wasn’t nearly this big when I left. He’s harmless, I promise. He just missed me!” Colonello sat up finally, and Scout sat at his side, almost as tall as he was. He howled and threw himself into his lap to get all of his attention. “He’s a real sweetheart…He must enjoy having a bigger place to run around…and a backyard.”

“I can imagine…I don’t know how a dog of this size could be inside…” Felix knelt down and put his hand out to Scout to let him sniff it. Scout licked his hand rather than taking time to sniff it.

“He already likes ya!”

“You come home and you find the dog before you give any attention to me?” Reborn asked, standing at the back door. “I see where your priorities are.”

“For the record, Scout found  _ me _ first…I was just coming to check out the backyard.”

“Uh-huh…”

Felix stood when Colonello stood. Scout sat at his side, waiting to get loved on by the new stranger.

“You were definitely next on my list…” Colonello walked up to Reborn, trying to withstand a smile on his face, but he was beginning to be overcome by emotion. He was finally home. He grabbed him in a hug and buried his face away.

It took Reborn by surprise for a few moments. “You’re home now…”

For the third time Felix had seen, the man that had put his life on the line several times to keep him safe and was normally serious or joking (with no in between), physically seemed to crumble into pieces. He looked away. He felt the exact same way on the inside, and he was doing his best to hide it. Everything around him was foreign, except for the man that was currently in shambles. He could finally see the impact that he had made on his life, and the connection that they had formed over the months they were together. It was crystal clear. He was dependent on him just as much as Colonello seemed to have been dependent on him, and their emotions were exact mirrors of each other. He couldn’t help the tears that started to fall. Scout nudged his hand with his nose, wet and cold, and huffed a bark at him.

Felix covered his eyes with his hand, embarrassed when Reborn looked over.

Reborn loosened himself from Colonello’s grip and pulled him over to where Felix stood. “You both are a mess…” he said quietly, pulling them both close to him. “It’ll be okay…You’re both home now…”

_ Home _ . It was a foreign concept to Felix. He couldn’t wrap his head around it.  _ Home _ . He had a home that was destroyed by the people he trusted to protect it. Would he be able to trust in this home? The nudging from the big brown dog, and the warmth of the embrace he was being held in was a good indicator that he just might.

* * *

 

 

“This is your room,” Reborn stated, pushing open the door that sat at the end of the hall. “It’s simple right now, but when we go shopping, we can change that.” He limped his way inside and up to the dresser sitting against the furthest wall. “There are a few changes of clothes in here…I didn’t know what your casual style is like, so I hope they’ll be okay until we can go shopping.” He turned to Felix, only to find that he wasn’t paying all that much attention.

Felix was too busy running his hands over everything in sight, still taking in that it was all real. “This…this is mine?”

“Yep. It’s all yours.” Reborn managed a small smile. “Is it okay?”

“It’s…It’s perfect…I never had a room to myself.” Felix glanced over at Reborn and noticed the open drawer. “O-oh…Were you…I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It has to be completely overwhelming right now for you…” The older man walked over to the bed and sat down. “You can take all the time you need, you know…to adjust. Don’t think you’re being rushed into it because of us. Just because there was a life happening before you came along doesn’t mean anything.”

“It’s overwhelming…But in a good way, I think,” Felix said, joining Reborn to sit on the bed. “It helps that we can communicate…”

“Ah yes…being multilingual has many perks…” Reborn chuckled and placed his hand on Felix’s back. “Now that you’ve been fed, and seen the house, you should get some rest…And if Col—your  _ dad _ comes in here and gives you too much trouble, just kick him out and lock the door…”

Felix couldn’t help a giggle at his words. “Yeah, I will…Don’t worry.”

“I can’t help but worry sometimes. He’s a little crazy.” He stood and made his way to the door. “I’m serious…Just kick him out!”

“Yes, sir!” Felix saluted to him before he was gone, and flopped onto the bed with a huff. He was absolutely exhausted. He hadn’t even moved to the head of the bed before he was asleep.

* * *

 

 

Colonello went in to check on him after he’d talked with Celia for a while. The boy had fallen asleep outside his covers and nowhere close to the pillows that were waiting for him. He walked up to the bed and carefully lifted Felix with what strength he had and moved him to where he’d be more comfortable and pulled the blanket over him. He made sure to shut off the light and close the door before he left. He collapsed onto his own bed moments later, just as tired as Felix had been. “For once, I’m actually excited to sleep…”

“I can only imagine…” Reborn finished unstrapping the leg brace and eased it off to set at his bedside. He rolled over so he was facing his husband, reaching a hand up to brush at the severely unkempt blond hair in his face. “God you need a haircut…”

“You think so?” Colonello glanced up, even though he wouldn’t be able to see it. “Maybe. I kinda like it…” He blinked. It was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open. “Thank you…for…welcoming Felix in…”

Reborn stroked his face gently while he drifted off. “Felix deserves a home too,” he whispered. “Seeing as you protected him with your life, I have no reason to disagree...” He watched the last few moments of fight his partner had left before his eyes were fully closed. “He’ll learn what family means with us…that’s for sure…”

Reborn awoke in the middle of the night to the other half of the bed void of any presence. For a moment, he wondered if he had just dreamed the whole thing. There was no homecoming. There was no light coming from under the bathroom door, so he knew it was empty. He pushed himself up and out of bed, remembering to grab his cane, and made his way into the hall.  _ At least this is the new place…I’m not completely insane.  _ After checking the kitchen and backyard, he returned to the hallway to check Celia’s room. When that ended inconclusively, he turned to Felix’s room.

He could only imagine the hardships they had gone through in the last few months. He pushed open the door and, as he’d begun to figure, Colonello was there with Felix tucked protectively in his arms, both fast asleep. Reborn hadn’t expected it to be easy. The two had practically relied on the same behavior for a month in order to keep warm. He walked up to the bed and sat on the edge, observing them both with a sad smile. He sighed quietly, already aware of the decision he was going to make. He got up and hobbled to the other side and set his cane against the wall, then carefully climbed onto the bed to get comfortable.

As Reborn settled in, Felix opened his eyes and took in the warmth around him. Everything was far from what he’d ever expected with his life, but as crazy as it was, he found it comforting. There was still remaining pain from his loss, but he knew he’d recover. He had gained an entire family to stand behind him, even though he felt like he was nothing special. In a way, he knew his mother wanted something like it to happen. As if prompted by the tightening of the embrace around him, he shut his eyes and found enough peace to fall asleep once more.

* * *

 

 

When Colonello woke up in the morning, he wasn’t at all expecting the group of sleeping individuals in the bed. He vaguely remembered when Reborn joined them, but the smaller body of Celia curled up against his back was an addition he didn’t recall. It was increasingly harder to get out of bed.  _ Someone’s gonna have to wake up… _ He reached behind him and gently patted her arm. When she finally stirred, he sighed in relief.

“Morning, daddy…” Celia mumbled sleepily, sitting up to rub her eyes. Before she knew it, she was lifted from the bed and given several kisses to her face. She giggled and hugged him around the neck. “I couldn’t find you or papa...but then I heard snoring and found you all here! Did Felix have a bad dream?”

“Nah…I was just worried about him…His first night in a new place. It can be scary.” Colonello turned to the bed, where the other two were just beginning to stir. “Good morning, sleepyheads…”

Felix shoved his face into his pillow in protest. “ _ Nein… _ ” he whined and pulled the blanket over his head.

Reborn chuckled and patted his head. “You can get up when you’re ready…” He got off the bed and grabbed the cane from where he’d left it. “We’ll probably be in the kitchen for a while. Take all the time you need…” He walked over to the others and pushed them out of the room so he could shut the door.

Colonello placed Celia on the floor. “Go ahead and get ready for the day…we’ve got some things to do.”

“Okay, daddy!” Celia disappeared into her room.

“You know, for a moment, I thought that it had all been a dream…” Reborn moved past him to get to their bedroom. “I was afraid you were still stuck out in the cold.”

“If we’re all dreaming, this is a pretty damn good dream…” The blonde followed him into the room, shutting the door behind him. “If it’s because I disappeared last night, I am sorry.”

“What for?” He went into the closet and looked for something to wear for the day. “I can’t be upset at you for doing something like that. Your survival depended on it…It’s not so easy to break out of that mentality.”

“I guess that’s true…” Colonello went to lean against the door frame. “I’m surprised you joined us.”

Reborn coughed in embarrassment. “I—I was worried too, you know. You’re older, you can handle yourself. He’s still young. It’s all probably terribly traumatizing…” He looked over and scoffed at the smug look on his husband’s face. “What?? I’m serious.” He grabbed the first shirt he could find and tossed it in hopes it would hit the other in the face. “You’re ridiculous.”

Colonello grabbed the shirt before it could hit him. “Me? I’m not the one that’s in denial, here. You care a lot more than you say you do.”

“Whatever, Colonello…” Reborn had everything he needed to change into, but couldn’t push past his partner to get out of the closet. “Why do you insist on being so stubborn?” He looked up at him and tried to be stern, but he was turned soft by the expression on his face. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I missed you so much…” He reached up with his heavily bandaged hands and cupped Reborn’s face with them. He pulled him closer and kissed him hesitantly, like they were teenagers kissing for the first time. He laughed nervously as he turned his head to hide the tears in his eyes. “I-I waited months to be able to touch you again…And n-now it feels like we’ve started over.”

Reborn watched the tears trickle down his cheek, momentarily shocked by their presence. “Co-Colonello…” He dropped what was in his hands and pulled him into an embrace. “D-dummy…you keep crying like this and you’ll become dehydrated…” He could feel the tears forming in his own eyes, and couldn’t disguise the desperation in the increasing tightness of his hug. “It’s okay to start over…M-maybe it’ll be good for us…to start over. Slow down some.”

“Y-yeah…w-we spent so much time lusting after each other th-that we never had time to be slow.” He sniffled as he breathed. “I love you. I married you because I love you…But I feel like I understand it better. I love you so much more than I did before.”

Reborn looked up at him, glad the tears already fell from his chin. “I love you too…And you’re right…We jumped into it all so fast…There’s always been  _ love _ …but the lust overtook it…It’ll be good to start over. Be adults about it.” He managed a chuckle. “Maybe go out on real dates like normal couples.”

“Scandalous…” Colonello smiled and kissed his tear stained cheeks. “It would be fun…And we have our own babysitter now…No need to push her off on Tsuna and Gokudera anymore…”

“Yeah, not like they don’t have enough to handle on their own…” Reborn stepped back and looked down at the clothes he’d dropped. He sighed, and was going to try and get them himself, but he was beaten to it.

“We’ve all got two now…Felix might just end up being baby sitter for everyone, as the oldest.” He handed Reborn the clothes and stepped backwards until he was out of the closet. “Speaking of the others, how much translating am I going to have to do?”

“Most of the others know English fairly well…It’s the one subject that I was able to get Tsuna to absorb…” Reborn followed him out and headed towards the bathroom carefully. “She can at least communicate effectively.”

“Good for her…” Colonello stood by the door and peered inside at the bathroom. “Ohh this is nice.”

“If you’re here to watch me shower, you’ve already seen me naked more times than I’d care to admit.”

“We’re starting over, remember? I’ve never seen you naked in my whole life.” The blonde grinned and shook his head. “Just making sure you’re okay.”

“I made sure everything in this place is accessible to me, don’t worry. There’s no ledge on the shower and it has a chair I can use, and the bath has a door. Talk about feeling my age.” Reborn opened the glass door that led into the shower and reached in to turn on the water. “And the floor is slip proof. I’ve got it all covered, big guy…”

“Alright, alright…” Colonello shut the door, but remained there for a few more moments. “Let me know if you need anything!”

“Just go make sure Celia isn’t making a mess with the cereal like she always does.”

“You got it.” He left the room briskly and made his way into the kitchen. “Look at you, eating your cereal and not wearing it for once.”

Celia huffed and pushed the carton of milk away. “I’m not 5 anymore.”

“This is a new development for me…How old are you now?” he teased and leaned down to kiss the side of her head. “It’s okay, accidents happen sometimes.” He grabbed the milk and returned it to the fridge. “Did you put food out for Scout?”

“No…” Celia looked over at him. “I forgot…”

“It’s alright, I got it.” Colonello looked around for the food and eventually found it. A new home meant new hiding spots for everything. He pushed open the back sliding door and stepped out into the fresh morning air. “Scout!” He set the food bag down as the big brown dog approached. He sat on the ground so he could be tackled by the mass of fur. “You’re glad I’m home, aren’t you, buddy?”

Inside, Celia was busy watching him be relentlessly loved on by the dog and didn’t notice that Felix had entered and was doing the same thing.

“He sure loves that dog…” he mumbled and looked over at Celia, who was now looking at him with big, curious eyes. “O-oh….H-hi.” He waved cautiously, unsure if he’d even be able to communicate with her or not.

She waved back shyly. She knew English well, sometimes better than she knew her native Italian tongue, but the stranger that looked an awful lot like her adoptive father was a little intimidating. “I-I got him for Christmas last year…”

Felix hid the sigh of relief. “Really? Almost a year ago?” He placed his hand against his stomach when he felt it rumble.

Celia noticed and hopped off of her chair to find a bowl. “Try this cereal…” She grabbed a spoon and set the two on the counter next to hers. “Get the milk from the door. I’ll get the cereal.”

He did as he was told, and retrieved the milk from the fridge door while she pulled a box from a cabinet and placed it with everything else. “What is it?”

“Oreo O’s. They taste like cookies.” She poured some into the new bowl, showing off the dark brown O-shaped puffs.

“Cookies? You’re allowed to eat cookies for breakfast?” Felix took a seat beside her and opened the milk carton. “My mother never let me have anything sweet unless it was jam.”

“Papa said I could have these until they’re gone…There. Pour the milk and it’s ready!” She put the box back down on the counter and returned to eating her cereal. “Just like cookies!”

Felix was hesitant to try something so sweet in the morning, but plunged the spoon in and took a bite. Regardless of the sweetness, it was pretty good. “Yeah, you’re right. Just like cookies.” He smiled into the bowl as he recalled a memory. “My mom let me have sweets once for breakfast. I had cake from my birthday.”

“Whoaa…Papa never lets me do that.” Celia looked up at him while he ate. “Was it good?”

“Yeah,” he quipped, and laughed a little. “But I got sick because it was too sweet for breakfast. Maybe I was supposed to learn my lesson.”

Colonello walked back into the house with the dog food bag at his side. “I see you’re bonding over some cereal…”

“It’s pretty good…better than military issue, that’s for sure.” Felix shook his head at the older man’s messy appearance. “Why do you let the dog maul you like that?”

“He isn’t mauling me! He’s loving me.” He shoved the bag back where he got it. “I have to shower, anyway…It’s not that big of a deal…And you know anything could be better than military issued food. I’d rather eat Scout’s food.”

“Ew…” Celia scrunched up her nose at the thought. “Don’t eat dog food, daddy.”

“I won’t. Just making a point, kiddo…” Colonello ruffled her hair playfully. “Can I try your cereal?” He placed his chin against her shoulder and looked into the bowl.

She scooped some and brought it up to his mouth to try. “Is it good?”

“Mhmm…” He kissed her cheek with a smile. “Just what every child needs in the morning…”

“I beg to differ…” Reborn stated as he walked into the kitchen, fully dressed and hair styled but still drying. “I only let her have it because you weren’t around to make her happy in the morning.”

“It’s not very nutritious,” Felix muttered, though it was obvious he liked the cereal too. “Maybe as a dessert or something, it would be more appropriate…It does taste good, though.”

“That’s what she says…I don’t eat sweets, so I can’t really give my opinion on it.” As he spoke, he went into the cabinets and picked out the materials for what he was going to make. “Colonello, you should go take a shower and stop spreading dog fur all over our child.”

“But it’s so much fun!” Colonello chuckled and pushed away as he was told. “I will return!” He left the kitchen without further argument.

“You don’t eat sweets?” Felix turned around on the stool he was sitting on. “That must be hard.”

“Not at all…I’ve been doing this for almost 3 years. It was hard to resist temptation at the beginning, but that was really because I liked coffee.” Reborn was putting things together in a bowl to mix. “I still make them for the others. We have a large family. It will get eaten before I can even think about it.”

“It sounds like a drastic life change decision…” Felix had noticed the cane that he was using, but hadn’t wanted to bring it up. “It’s a good thing, for whatever reason you had to do it.”

“I’m getting old…I plan on sticking around for as long as I can. Some things are just necessary in order to keep it that way.” He was intently staring at what he was doing. “Could you reach something for me, Felix? I can’t really move from this spot.”

“Yeah, of course.” The boy hopped down from his seat and walked over to Reborn. “What do you need?”

“There’s a pan up in that cabinet over there…” Reborn pointed up at it. “It’s got green trim around the top edge…”

Felix opened the door and searched for it, finding it easily and bringing it back over to where the older man was. “Here you go.” He made sure to go back and shut the door. “Are you making bread?”

“I am…I typically make everything with fresh ingredients and on the same day. I don’t typically trust boxed or canned items. Anything premade is more likely to be unhealthy or…well…I just don’t trust it.” Reborn would leave it at that. He wasn’t going to mention his past occupation as a Hitman in such a casual conversation, and not unless it was actually important. “Thank you for your help. You know, if you have any recipes from home you’d like me to try, I’d be more than willing. Colonello can barely touch the microwave without catching it on fire, so I haven’t really asked him.”

“Daddy isn’t allowed to touch anything but the fridge,” Celia stated, and giggled when Felix chuckled. “Papa, am I going to play with Akira today?”

“Yes, you are…Very soon.” Reborn set the dough he made in the pan to rise while they went out for the day. “Once your dad is finished showering, we’re going over there.” He set the pan to the side covered up and put the mixing bowl in the sink with everything he used. “I’m gonna check on him…He doesn’t usually take this long to shower.” He grabbed his cane and stopped at the fridge to grab an apple before he made his way down the hall.

Felix took a look at the few dishes in the sink and rolled up his sleeves. “Celia, bring those bowls over here and I’ll make sure all the dishes are done before we leave.”

Celia hopped down and brought them over. “We have a dish washer, though…”

“It’s best to make sure they’re clean even before they go in the dishwasher so they get extra clean.” He took the bowls and cleaned them out before reaching over to open the dishwasher. “This is the best I can do for them right now…” With the easy things out of the way, he turned to the mixing bowl and got in to scrub it.

Celia watched him a moment before she hopped down the hall to gather her things to bring with her to Tsuna’s house.

“We’re just going shopping…It’s not like your appearance really matters all that much…” Reborn muttered, dragging behind the blonde as quickly as he could. “It’s not—That’s running water…” He moved around Colonello into the kitchen. “Felix, you didn’t have to do those dishes…”

“I know, but I wanted to…” Felix set the bowl up to dry and dried his hands. “It wasn’t too much, so I don’t mind.”

Reborn feigned a soft, and very dramatic, cry. “You’ve blessed me with a good child…Are you sure he’s yours?”

“Oi, I resent that.” Colonello huffed and walked over to Felix, putting an arm around his shoulders. “We’re definitely related. Look at the resemblance. It’s impossible to deny it.”

Felix looked up at Colonello, definitely not used to the whole idea. He noticed it too, how similar they looked, which made it easier to accept, even though the man his mother knew was completely dead. He’d become someone else entirely.

“I’ll accept it…Though you know, there are others in the world that look very similar to you as well…It’s just how genetics works…” Reborn moved to sit on a stool. “You seem perplexed, Felix...We’re open books, you know. You can ask us just about anything, and we might have an answer.”

“I don’t like to pry,” Felix started. He was surprised that Reborn had caught on to his thinking.  _ Am I that readable? _

“It’s a gift, actually…To know what someone is thinking.” Reborn chuckled and patted the seat beside him. “Seriously, it’s okay to ask questions. You’re old enough to comprehend abstract ideas…”

Colonello pushed Felix to the stool and made him sit. “Whatcha got for us?”

“Um…Well…For starters, I was curious about…To put it bluntly, how you’re still alive and why mom didn’t know about it…” Felix stared at the ground sheepishly. “You don’t completely resemble the picture of you that I’d seen all my life.”

“This one’s on you, big guy…I’ll help where I can.” Reborn leaned back against the counter, looking them both over.

Colonello took the stool beside Felix. “There’s a lot involved in this, so I hope you understand…There’s a lot that I don’t know, and a lot that I don’t remember. This, right here,” he said, grabbing the blue pacifier from inside his shirt. “This is the reason I’m alive. The reason that all of those people like me are alive, Reborn included. I don’t remember much about my past…Sometimes I get snippets of it in dreams…But I’m not exactly the same person I was back then.”

“That keeps you alive?” Felix had seen it before, of course. During the nights in the frozen vehicle, when everything else was dark, the small instrument would glow a calming blue. And the longer they spent waiting, the dimmer it would get. He looked up at him quickly. “Th-the dimmer it got, the closer to death you were?”

“Pretty much…These little things have a lot of power in them…We can use it, but at a cost to us. It takes away from our life force…I used it quite a bit in Russia…it was my only hope to keep everyone else alive.”

“It keeps us alive and curses us,” Reborn stated quietly. “Power at the cost of our lives and our bodies, at times, isn’t what we thought we were getting into.”

“Your bodies?” Felix thought about it. “Wait, the reason you had a second form while we were on the battlefield is because of that little blue thing? You all turn into children?”

“Yep, but only if there’s too much power used…This is the price we pay for living again. We look young, but the moment these are taken away from us and given to the next generation, we’ll rapidly catch up to our real ages and probably end up dying early.” Colonello fidgeted with the pacifier. “We’re here to keep balance in the world and to help the current Boss of our family at all costs.”

“Right, the Mafia…” Felix nodded slowly. “So you technically did die? And then were brought back?”

“Yes. Seven of us died and returned to do this duty, and an eighth to keep our memories and take over in case one of us dies prematurely,” Reborn explained. “We all became what we always wanted in life: intelligent scientists, performers, military personnel…It was the hook that grabbed us all in the first place, and then we learned the consequences after it was said and done.”

“I…I didn’t know things like this existed…” The boy looked between the two older men. “You’re powerful, but not immortal or impervious to injury…” His gaze stopped at Reborn. “L-like your leg…did something bad happen?”

“We’re definitely not invincible...I didn’t want to talk about it in front of Celia, because it’s not something I want to explain just yet, but I had a stroke last year that took the mobility in my leg. It’s manageable now, of course.”

“Your power doesn’t protect you from those kind of things?” Felix was incredibly intrigued. “If you’re meant to stay and protect the world, why…aren’t  _ you _ protected?”

“In the beginning, we were. The older we get, the longer we have this, the less it works. Unfortunately, something like this means we’re just getting closer to the day they get stripped from us.” Reborn kept a solemn expression. He knew it was true. Something like a stroke would have never happened if they weren’t close to the end.

“But there’s still a while to go before that happens,” Colonello reassured him. “Reborn and I will be around for a while. We’re  _ technically _ immortal, unless something happens to us. We look the same age every day of our lives. I’ve looked 21 for almost 20 years. I’m 43, it’s pretty nice to look this age.”

“ _ 43… _ ” Reborn muttered. “You wouldn’t be so chipper about it if you were 50 like me…”

“50?” Felix gaped, and immediately dropped his gaze to the floor. “S-sorry. You’re incredibly young looking to me…I guess that really proves it…”

The dark haired man just chuckled and ruffled his hair. “It’s alright. I know I’m old. I feel it more and more every day because I watch over a bunch of brats that just keep getting older…You’re all pretty much the same age, with the exception of a few...I hope you’ll be able to get along with them. Most of them can communicate with you, or they have a bunch of translators that will be able to make it work.”

“I-I’m the same age as your Boss??” He was wide eyed.

“Yup. She’s young, but stronger than any of us, that’s for sure,” Colonello stated proudly. “She’s come a long way. An incredible heart and mind. You’ll get along really well. She’s got two kids, so don’t be too alarmed if she mothers you too. Everyone is so drastically different…You met Hibari already. His husband is the complete opposite of him…”

“Wow…” Felix was scratching his head. “I guess I’ll…just have to meet them all…”

“It’s a little overwhelming, but you’ll learn everyone’s names eventually. The family is really close. We hop houses all the time. Spend holidays together. It’s a lot of fun. And the abundance of children is just oh so wonderful…” Reborn moved off the chair after feeling his cellphone buzz in his pocket. “Speaking of the Boss…I think it’s time we headed out. We can talk more later, if you come up with anymore questions. And Tsuna is great with answering questions, too.” He answered the phone and headed down the hallway to get Celia.

“Don’t worry…They won’t be too overwhelming for you.” Colonello patted Felix on the back gently. “Tsuna is rather reserved, and is only as excited as the least excited person in the room. She doesn’t like to stick out too much.” He hopped off the seat. “Our main goal is to get some shopping done today, anyway. You’ll meet everyone eventually.”

“That’s…reassuring…” Felix sighed and stood up straight.

“Come on, everyone…Out to the car,” Reborn called and waited for everyone to gather at the door before speaking again. “I hope you’re ready to drive…because otherwise we’d need a ride.”

“I’m more than ready!” Colonello took the keys from him eagerly. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

* * *

 

 

Tsuna had been waiting all morning for the others to arrive. She was sitting on the couch with her and Gokudera’s youngest, Lavina, in her arms, while Gokudera was on the floor with Akira.

“They’ll be here soon,” Gokudera assured her, taking note of her restlessness. “Are you nervous or excited?”

“A little of both,” she admitted. “As much trouble as Colonello has caused us through all these years, he’s still our family…I’m excited to see him. It’s kind of still surreal that everything happened like it did, so being able to see him in person will help make it a little more solid.”

“So you’re just worried about meeting his son?” Gokudera asked, bearing the weight of their son on his back as he tried to climb onto his shoulders. He was worried too, if he was honest with himself, but he was a little better at hiding it. The idea that Colonello had a son that was biologically related to him in any way was a little scary.

Neither of them had much more time to think about it as there was knocking on the door.

Akira was the first to run out of the room to the door, followed by Gokudera to grab him before he could jump all over them. “Uncle Colo!” he screeched, not having expected to see the blonde beyond the door. All he had known about the situation was that Colonello was gone and everyone was scared.

“That’s right! Uncle Colo is here to give Akira a big, big hug!” Colonello took him when he was offered by Gokudera and smothered him with a big bear hug. “I missed you, kid.”

Reborn grinned and patted Akira’s head. “He wouldn’t stop saying how excited he was to see you again when we were driving over here, Akira.” He chuckled at the embarrassed nudge he got from his partner. “It’s true.”

“I missed you too!” Akira giggled and looked up when Tsuna entered, Lavina still in her arms. “Mama! It’s Uncle Colo!”

“Mhm…I told you this morning we were going to have special visitors…” Tsuna handed Lavina over to Gokudera so she could have her hands free.

Felix observed all of the new people quietly, listening to the language he would have to learn eventually. Tsuna, the woman they called their Boss, was beautiful and definitely had a motherly look in the way she smiled. The man, Gokudera, looked like he could probably take a few people out without much of a problem, which was a little intimidating, but when he had the baby in his arms, he seemed to melt. He tried not to smile.

Colonello set Akira down on the floor and stepped forward to hug Tsuna. “It’s good to see you again, Tsuna…I assume you’re the other person I should thank for getting us out of Russia…”

“We were all scared to death…We all wanted to do something, I’m just the one with the power to make people do them.” Tsuna looked up at him, trying hard not to cry. She laughed sheepishly when he stroked her head, obviously knowing she was holding back tears.

“We’re home now…I’m sure you’ve shed more tears in the last few months than you should have over this…” He hugged her again before letting her go. “We’re here safe, so that’s all I could ask for.” He turned to Felix and beckoned him forward from his place hiding behind them.

Reborn, holding Akira against his good side, went to go stand with Gokudera. He watched the young boy as he looked Felix over, anxious to know who the new stranger was.

“This is Felix,” Colonello stated, switching languages so Felix would understand. “He’s been anxious to meet you all since I started talking about you.”

Tsuna turned and took Akira from Reborn before stepping forward to greet Felix. “It’s nice to finally meet you…We’ve been anxious as well.” She ran her fingers through Akira’s hair. “My name is Tsuna, this is my husband Hayato, and our children, Akira and Lavina.” She looked down at her quietly observing child. “You can say hello,” she said to him, quietly, in Japanese.

Akira looked up at Felix. “Hi…” His English knowledge was limited, as a child, but he was picking things up here and there.

Felix smiled slightly. “Hello…” He averted his attention to Tsuna. “It’s nice to meet you…Dad talked very highly of you all…”

“We can go and sit in the living room,” Gokudera stated, gesturing in that direction. “That may be a lot more comfortable.” He was glad when everyone agreed and he led them in. He was able to put Lavina in her swing to get her to stop squirming around in his arms. He sat on the floor beside her, gently pushing the swing forward. “What do you think of Japan so far?” he asked Felix, hoping to keep the mood light.

“It’s different,” Felix said. “I’ve…only been able to observe a little from our drive over, but I think I’ll like it.”

“Germany and Italy are very different from Japan…But you’ll get used to it.”

“How old is your daughter?” Felix asked Tsuna, barely able to keep his eyes off her as she cooed while being pushed. “She’s beautiful.”

“Four months…She was born just before Colonello…left for the war.” She wasn’t sure how to put it.

“I was there when they took him…” Felix scratched his head sheepishly.

“This kid was mean until they put him under my wing,” Colonello said with a laugh. “I’m only kidding, but he was weary. He learned pretty quickly.”

“Regardless of the things that happened, we’re glad you’re here.” Tsuna smiled at him. “You have a family here with us, and we will do anything we can to help you.”

“Thank you…” Felix looked down at his hands. Again he was baffled by the kindness that he was being given, and so genuinely.

Colonello patted his back gently. “A lot of this is going to take a lot of getting used to, for him,” he explained in Japanese to the others. “The only person he had in his life was his mother, and he’s still grappling with her death. He’s only a year younger than you are, barely.”

Tsuna nodded quietly. “I’m sure we can find something for you to do here so that you’re occupying your time…Not really Mafia related, but something.”

“I-um…” Felix wrung his hands together and felt the roughness of the skin. “I can do just about anything…” There were things that he wanted to do, but they were better discussed with Reborn and Colonello.

“That’s a useful skill,” Gokudera piped in, only just then really tuning back into the conversation.

“I’ll have plenty of time to think about it…But I know Reborn is dying to take you shopping, so I won’t keep you all much longer.” Tsuna smiled over to Reborn. “I take it everything’s okay with the house?”

“It’s perfect,” Reborn replied. He had no complaints. Going shopping meant they would be adding a little personality to house, and especially in Felix’s room. He wanted the boy to have a space to call his own, something that he knew he could return to when he needed time for himself. “It’s easy to get around in for me…I’m sure as the days pass I’ll have more to say.”

“Absolutely…You all need some time to adjust to it…Now, you all go and enjoy spending some time together.” She stood up and waved her hands as if shooing them out of the room.

Felix stood first and bowed his head, using the only bit of culture he knew anything about. “Thank you for your help. W-without you, we probably wouldn’t be here.”

Colonello stood up and tugged on the boy’s shoulders to get him to stand straight. “You don’t have to do that around here,” he stated with a chuckle. He turned to help Reborn stand. “But you are right…Tsuna is the reason things change.”

“Oh stop…” Tsuna shook her head and continued the shooing motion. “Get out of here! Don’t worry about Celia. Try to have some fun while you’re out!”

Reborn took the lead out the door. “We’ll try!” He made sure the other two were following after him as they walked out. “I’m gonna preface this whole day by saying one thing—Don’t worry about price tags. If you see something you like, don’t be afraid to say so just because of a price tag. We’re not worried about a little money.”

“He’s right. Usually we try to exercise a little restraint, but for now, we’re trying to make the space comfortable for you. Anything you want, we’ve got it.” Colonello kept an arm around Felix’s shoulders as they walked to the car. “Okay?”

“I-I’ll try my best…” Felix didn’t like the idea of not paying attention to price tags. The concept of having enough money to afford anything that could possibly be in a store was over his head.  _ Is this actually possible? _ He kept quiet the whole ride to their destination. He hadn’t even noticed they’d stopped and that he’d spaced out until there was a tap on his shoulder. He was staring out at the scenery that was no longer changing. “Oh…We’re here?”

“It’s okay…I know it’s a lot for you take in…” Reborn smiled sadly at him. “Over time, it will get easier. Having a family that isn’t quite…traditional is all your dad and I know. And we wouldn’t trade it for anything.” He stayed turned around in his seat until Colonello appeared with an electric wheelchair/shopping cart. He moved to get out and sat down on the machine. “It’s nicer than my standard one.”

“You can move around on your own…Just don’t run over any toes.” Colonello chuckled and stepped away so Reborn could drive it back into the store.

“I’d never do that to anyone but you!” The former Hitman was tempted to fake it, but with the state his husband was in as it was, he didn’t want to cause any problems.

Felix laughed quietly at their interaction. It reminded him of children and remembering what they had talked about regarding the ‘curse’ they were under, it made some sense. At times, they actually  _ were _ children. He followed behind silently.

“You love me too much to run over  _ my _ toes.” The smile on the blonde’s face was unmistakable. Nothing in the world could make him truly as happy as Reborn could. His eyes were filled with unbelievable love for his partner.

“Do I? That’s a hefty accusation, Colonello.” Reborn pointed in the direction they needed to go inside the store. First, he wanted Felix to start creating his wardrobe. With Christmas a few days passed, he wanted to gauge the boy’s interests so he could come up with a few things to give as a late gift. “I have a few things I need to get…I trust that you two will be okay to look around in the clothes?”

“Of course! Go on and do what you need to do. Felix and I will be around here.”

Felix watched the electric cart as it made its way slowly down the aisle before he turned his attention to the section of clothing. He switched automatically back to German. “So…I just need to choose what I like?”

“What you like and what fits you.” Colonello walked through the racks of clothes to get into the center. “And, of course, essential things, like socks.”

Felix was already lost in the racks of winter clothing, observing the different types and styles there were for the jackets and hoodies. He never had many hoodies and he always saw them as  _ trendy _ items back home… “How do I tell what the sizes are?”

“Oh!” The military man appeared beside him to take a look. “Yeah, that’s important.” He showed him where the information was on the tag and what it would convert to in sizes he would understand. “You like hoodies?”

“I…yeah…” Felix chose one that matched his size preferences, the fabric a dark blue color. “Mom never really let me have them…But they’re comfortable and warm.”

“They sure are…And they’re good for layering. You can always slip another jacket on top of it!” He walked over to another rack so he could give the boy space while he looked. It didn’t, however, keep him from staring at Felix’s back as he fell into thought.  _ Felix wasn’t there in the future…So what happened?  _ He thumbed through the same rack over and over again mindlessly, no longer watching his son but not exactly seeing the shirts in front of him either.

Felix walked over to him carrying an armful of clothes, a genuine smile on his face. “We should have—” His father’s forlorn expression stopped him in his tracks.  _ Is he thinking about something? The war, maybe…?  _ He looked around quickly, already resolved to what he planned to do. He set the things down and stepped forward to hug the man.

Colonello was instantly pulled from his thoughts at the sensation of warmth that formed around his torso. He looked down at the top of Felix’s head, honestly surprised. “Kid, what’s this all about?”

“You looked like you needed a hug,” Felix answered simply and glanced up at him. “You kinda spaced out…Were you thinking about the war?”

“No…Well, not this war.” The blonde patted the boy on the back, giving him the okay to let go. He smiled slightly when he saw his arms overflowing with things he’d chosen so far. “You’ve got quite the selection there…Do you want me to carry it while you keep looking?”

“I-I was going to suggest we get our own cart…” He didn’t want to make the man that saved his life by using nearly all of his strength to carry his clothes. “I remember where I saw them! I’ll go get one and come right back so we won’t keep Mr. Reborn waiting when he gets back.” He took off to find the front of the store.

“That boy is something else…” Colonello stated aloud, knowing Reborn had been hiding somewhere nearby.

“ _ Mr. Reborn _ . God…Way to make me feel old…” Reborn drove up to where his husband was standing, the things he’d gone to get sitting in the basket. “We’re definitely going to have to change that. The formality is going to drive me nuts.”

“Give him some time…I’m sure he’ll be calling you  _ dad _ soon, too.” The military man chuckled. “Or maybe  _ mom _ .”

“Oi! I resent that! I really will run over your toes!”

“I leave for a minute and you’re already causing trouble??” Felix looked up at his father with an expression that said  _ really? _

“You have no idea,” Reborn muttered, eyes already fixated on the things Felix had in the cart. “We can wait to get more summer like clothes until it starts getting warm. The cold clings for a little while around here.”

“That’s a relief…I was afraid I’d have too much if I was shopping for all seasons…” Felix looked around them quickly. “H-how involved is this m-mafia family?”

“If you’re asking about whether you need formal wear or not, don’t worry. I’ll get it tailor made. Store bought suits are terrible quality.” Reborn reached out and ran his fingers over the fabric of a jacket nearby.

“Do you…want to be involved?” Colonello asked him.

“I don’t think I could escape it if I tried…”

“At least he’s honest…” Reborn laughed quietly. “Unfortunately, you’re right. It’s hard to not become involved…But you do have a choice. You don’t have to show up to Vongola functions or anything simply because you’re here.”

“I…” Felix took a breath. “I want to…From everything I’ve experienced so far, I don’t see any bad intentions…Y’know, all the bad things you normally hear about the mafia…It’s not like that here…” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “And…well…you two are members of it…so that has to mean something…”

Colonello grabbed his son in a bone crushing hug. “You’re an amazingly good child and I don’t know how I got this lucky!”

“D- _ dad _ you’re crushing me!” The boy was laughing regardless. It was nice to see the laidback side of the man that he fought side by side with. He had a silly nature before but being in peacetime made it more enjoyable.

“Stop smothering your child so he can go finish picking out what clothes he wants, ‘Nello. You can smother him all you want at home.” Reborn also enjoyed the display. The blonde’s treatment of both kids was equal, and even though one was much younger than the other, they both took the affection and didn’t mind it.

“Oh! Oh yeah.” Colonello let him go. “Lead the way, Felix.”

* * *

 

 

At lunch that afternoon, Felix was left wondering. “Hey dad…”

Colonello looked up, his mouth full of food. “Hum?”

“You um…You said something earlier about another war. Was it bad like this one?” Felix waited until his father had finished the bite he’d taken to continue. “Was it a mafia related war?”

“Reborn understands more of the…background logistics than I do, but it was mafia related…Two years ago we were transported to ten years in the future to defeat a man named Byakuran that was using his power to destroy every future possible.”

“Wuh—the future? You mean like, time travel??” The boy looked between them in surprise. “You had to  _ time travel _ to fight?”

“Multiple times…” Reborn stated. He didn’t like to think about that whole battle very much. He did many things he was not proud of. “It was a very hard battle that lasted what seemed like forever…Of course, we won in the end…” He looked up at Colonello. “What got you thinking about it?”

“Felix…He wasn’t a part of our future then. Celia was, and we hadn’t gotten her yet.” The blonde scratched his head. “I know that multiple futures existed and things have changed from the one we knew…But it’s still strange. It’s like the war in Russia never happened.”

“It’s not like the future can predict the stupid things humans are going to do.” The ex-hitman shrugged his shoulders and went back to eating. “Maybe you were destined to meet at another time in life…You know fate has a weird way of doing things.”

“That’s true.” The future had a lot of surprises that Colonello wouldn’t mention, including his murder at the hands of the one he now calls  _ husband _ . It was the unfortunate circumstance they had to take care of in order to get the mission back on track, but it never ceased to cause both men a great deal of pain.

“Without the addition of Russia…It’s been peaceful?” Felix didn’t like the silence that fell amongst them. It was heavy with what felt like guilt. “F-for the most part?”

“Since then, it’s been nice. We’ve been able to live a little.” Reborn leaned back in his chair. “Some things happened here and there, but it was manageable…Good things have happened, too. Everyone got married…Celia came to us from Italy…We’ve watched all of the children grow in just the matter of a year…”

“The good always outweighs the bad.” Colonello placed his hand over Reborn’s on the table. He could feel the man’s wedding band, as it was smooth to the touch. “The last few years have been some of the best years of my life…”

Felix let the new, lighter mood absorb into the atmosphere around their table before he started to talk again. “Mr. Reborn…?”

“I—” Reborn took a breath.  _ Let it go. Give it time. _ “Hm?” He brought his glass of water to his lips to drink.

“Um…If there’s anything you need help with at home, I want to do it…I-I don’t want to be treated like a house guest.” Felix looked up at him with serious, resolved eyes. “Even the worst of chores is okay with me…Y-you and dad can’t always do all the work…So please, let me pay back this kindness by doing what I can.”

“I will…Some days I get tired out easily…If I’m honest, today is one of those days…” Reborn sighed quietly and ran his fingers through his hair. “Even just driving around on a cart is tiring…But when we get home, I’ll make sure to have some help for us to get the things we got into your room so you and your father can set it up the way you want it.”

Felix nodded. “Okay.” He had almost forgotten they had heavier items that needed to be moved around. He had to admit, he was also tired. Emotionally, he was being drained like crazy by the overwhelming nature of everything. And physically, he was still in no shape to do much of anything, especially walk around for hours. “That won’t be terrible, especially if we have help.”

“We’ll just take it easy…You and I are far from being in any shape to do something so physically demanding…” The bandages on his hands were proof of that. Colonello knew that the more energy he put into anything else he would find himself in danger. “But we have plenty of capable people the help us out.”

Felix chuckled, thinking of how strange it was to have people that could do their bidding at any moment’s time. “Maybe being in the mafia isn’t so bad after all…”

* * *

 

 

(Flashback)

Felix felt the less than comfortable mattress beneath him and nearly cried out in joy. Even though it was rock hard and unsuitable for sleep, the roughness of the day’s combat training left him drained dry of energy and just about anything was comfortable. He rolled onto his back and stared over at the bed beside his, where the traitor-turned-mentor typically slept.  _ Must be something going on if his duty shift has gone this long… _ He didn’t know how much he could trust Colonello yet, but the fact that he hadn’t returned from the battlefield yet made him feel uneasy.

As minutes turned into hours, Felix stayed awake, even as the order for lights out was called and he could hear the sound of heavy fire in the distance. The other man was nowhere to be found and he knew better than to ask. Colonello was not regarded well by the military, and if he died out on the battlefield he doubted anyone would say a thing. He decided then that he would try to get some sleep, since daylight would be back soon.

Just as he had began drifting into sleep, the door to his bunk room opened and someone stumbled inside, effectively waking Felix and nearly giving him a heart attack. He sat up and noticed immediately it was the man he’d been so worried about all night long. “D-did something bad happen out there?”

Colonello collapsed onto his bed, clutching at his chest. “I don’t want to talk about it right now,” he stated through clenched teeth. He wasn’t injured badly, just cuts and bruises from his surroundings, but the pain overtaking his body was excruciating. He couldn’t stop the whimpers that passed his lips.

Felix climbed out of bed and approached his mentor’s with hesitance. “A-are you injured? You should have gone to the med building instead of coming back here…” He couldn’t see any damage, even with the room being mostly dark. There were lamps outside that fed light into the room, but it was dim and not good for much. “Y-you—”

“I’m…I’m not injured, kid…” The blonde took a shaky breath and let it out. “I pushed myself to my limit…My body is just…reacting. That’s all…You need to get some rest.”

Felix wasn’t going to complain. He was exhausted, especially since he’d been woken from his dozing. “Okay…But if you’re dead in the morning I’m not going to forgive you.”

“I won’t die…” He was able to even out his breathing a little bit, just enough to feign the look of relaxation. “I’m okay. Finally being able to lie down is doing wonders.” It wasn’t completely a lie. He was putting less strain on his body, though he knew what was done was done. By morning, he’d be the size of an infant.

Felix woke to the sound of the morning alarms, one of which was only a few feet in front of their shack. He was sore, his eyes were hard to keep open, but he knew that if he didn’t get up, he wouldn’t be able to do what he promised his mother he would do. He glanced over at the other bed and was surprised to see that it was empty. Or he thought. What he imagined to be a pillow beneath the blanket had blond tufts of hair, similar to that of his mentor. He cautiously approached the bed and peeled the blanket back. What he saw surprised him so much he fell backwards to the floor, and only barely caught himself with his own bed.  _ Wh-wh-what the HELL is going on!!?? _

The movement of the blanket got Colonello to wake and he sat up, yawning. He blinked away the sleepiness in his eyes and then addressed Felix, who was still halfway on the floor from shock. “See? I told you I wouldn’t die!”

“What--…What the hell…?” The infant sized person he was staring at sounded exactly like the man that had fallen asleep in the same bed hours before. “I-I’m dreaming! I have to be dreaming!” Before he could even ask any questions, the front door of their shack flew open.

“Why are you dawdling, Soldiers? Morning alarm went off five minutes ago!” The higher-ranking officer stood there, glaring at both of them until they both made a move to get ready. “You better get your asses to breakfast!”

“Yes sir!” Both occupants called out, scrambling to get into uniform.

“Why is getting in trouble a normal thing with you??” Felix had already moved on from the fact that his mentor was now the size of a child. He wasn’t going to get any immediate answers.

“I would like to know that myself, actually.” Colonello was glad the military at least remembered that he had an alternate form and made sure he would have uniforms to wear. “If I knew, I wouldn’t be here right now.” When he was ready and knew Felix was too, he hopped onto the boy’s shoulder. “I can’t answer too many questions, but all you have to know is that now I’m much stronger than I was before. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Worried?” Felix scoffed and took off across the courtyard to get to the dining hall. “Who’s worried? Not me! I think you’re crazy…Anything I said last night was because I was tired.” With Colonello perched on his shoulder, he was afraid his lies would fall flat. He was surprisingly light. It was obvious the military knew something like it would happen, so what was he missing? It wasn’t a normal thing for grown human beings to suddenly wake up the size of a baby.  _ Maybe that was why he was in so much pain? I can’t imagine shrinking, especially with his size, to be a breeze… _ He shook his head.  _ I shouldn’t care this much. _

“The more you allow to go unresolved within you, the worse it’ll get…” Colonello hopped off as soon as they got to the dining hall. “Make sure to eat well! I’ve got some things I have to do.”

“Wait, you’re not going to eat?” Felix stared down at him. “You didn’t come to breakfast yesterday either, and I doubt you got lunch or dinner…You’re going to kill yourself doing that.”

“Hey, kid, I’ve got this…Now go, before you get into even more trouble.” He hopped away with ease, leaving the boy behind to watch his back.

 

The month passed quickly, and Felix’s growth to trust Colonello went with it. The man that vowed on his life to protect the boy, no matter what happened, proved himself to be a better person than the military had made him out to be. During that time, Felix got used to the switching of his mentor’s forms, especially when they were out on the battlefield for extended periods of time.

Felix crawled into bed, their new space not nearly as nice as the shack they shared in the beginning. It was a tent behind their barrier on the battlefield. The warmth the blanket offered made him giddy. He settled in quickly and watched the snow falling outside their small window. “Russia is just as bad as I thought it would be.”

Colonello, in his Arcobaleno form, was shivering like crazy. Being so small meant being susceptible to the cold more than he would like. No matter how tucked into his blankets he got, he wasn’t producing enough of his own heat to mean anything. “Y-yeah…It’s c-cold.”

Felix watched him shiver for a few moments before he got onto his knees so he could move over to where he was. “Move over.”

The blonde looked up at him in confusion. “Mine isn’t going to be any more comfortable than y-yours, kid…”

He placed his blankets on top of Colonello’s and tried to nudge his way underneath all of them. “I’m not doing this for comfort…We need to keep warm or we’ll both die out here.” He reached over and pulled his pillow over to use. “So move over just a little bit so I’m not on the cold ground.”

Colonello did as he was told and was instantly gratified. The warmth that Felix brought with him was more than enough to stop his shivering. He closed his eyes and got comfortable again. “Thanks…”

As the night went on, it got colder. Felix could feel the other’s small frame shaking again and he knew he had no other choice but to embrace him or he would get sick, or worse. He pulled the blonde against his chest and kept his arms around him to give him as much heat as possible.

“K-kid…?”

“Go back to sleep…” He instructed. “I don’t want you to die out here because of the cold…You have a family to get back to.” With the news of the death of his mother and destruction of his entire hometown, he had nothing left—but at least he could help Colonello get back to his life.

“You will too…When we get out of here…I promise…”

The next day, they were on the convoy that was bombed in the middle of nowhere, Russia and two months later, they would be found and taken home.

(End of Flashback)

* * *

 

 

With most of the work being done, and the adults working on dinner in the kitchen, Felix found himself in the silence of the living room alone and very sleepy. He didn’t like to take naps, because he knew it would have him up most of the night, but the urge to sleep was too strong for him to resist. He lied down on the couch he was sitting on and rested his head against his arm and found himself snoozing in no time.

Reborn stepped into the room and could hear Felix’s soft breathing. He peered over the back of the couch at the sleeping boy and couldn’t hide a smile. He hummed quietly and covered him with a blanket that was hanging on a chair nearby. He walked back into the kitchen in time to catch Colonello shove something into his mouth. “This is why I don’t leave you with the food…”

“I wasn’t going to eat it all…” the blonde whined with his mouth full. “It smelled too good to not try it!”

“Mhm…” He chuckled quietly and brushed the crumbs off his husband’s shirt before turning back to the things cooking on the stove. “Your son is asleep on the couch…I think we really tired him out today.”

“Poor kid…” Colonello checked his shirt just to make sure there wasn’t any evidence left. “He definitely needs the rest…”

“So do you,” Reborn commented and stood in front of him again, hand rested on his chest. “I’m worried you’re gonna just drop on me…I’ve got dinner, and it’ll be another little while. Go rest some.”

“I’ll be okay,” he affirmed him, taking his hand. He placed a kiss at his knuckles. “I want to spend time with you…”

The dark-haired man closed the gap between them and kissed his husband sweetly. “We have plenty of time to spend together, love…If you rest now, it will just give us more time later…It gives me less to worry about.”

“One more kiss and it’s a deal…” Colonello grinned at him and moved to cup the man’s face.

Reborn obliged and kissed him again. “I’ll wake both of you when dinner is done…I promise.”

“Okay.” The blonde went into the living room and didn’t hesitate to ease himself into the space behind Felix on the couch. He felt the boy jerk slightly at the movement. “It’s just me…” He settled in and draped an arm over his son to get comfortable. “Go back to sleep…”

“Mm…” Felix adjusted his position to give his arm a break. “You…kept your promise…” he murmured, turning to face the man.

“Promise?” Colonello pushed the hair out of Felix’s face. “Which was that?”

“I’d have a family to get to…after it was over…” He closed his eyes again. He spoke again but it was inaudible; words lost to the sleep overtaking his mind.

“Of course I did…” Colonello muttered in reply. “I wasn’t going to leave you out there…it just worked out better than either of us could have imagined…” He yawned and let the exhaustion take over.

Reborn returned to the living room when he was sure everything would be ready soon so he could wake the sleeping boys. Their decision to leave Celia with Tsuna for the night was a good one. He knew otherwise, neither of them would get any rest. He leaned over the back of the couch and laughed at the sight. “Well that was fast…”

“Has to be a record,” Felix replied, definitely awake. He was holding the Arcobaleno form of his father in his arms, wrapped comfortably in the now oversized t-shirt he was wearing. “I’m surprised it took so long in the first place…He held out so long…” He rolled so he could get up from the couch. “At that point, it was just pure survival instinct.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely got a hefty will to live when it comes to protecting the people he cares about.” He ran his fingers through Colonello’s hair gently. “Let me take him…I’ll make sure he gets dressed.”

Felix didn’t hesitate to hand him over. “Is there anything that needs to be done in the kitchen for dinner?”

“Ah…Yeah, the oven will go off soon…The bread is in there…The soup on the stove is done, it’s just simmering.” He easily cradled the infant-sized-man in his arms. “It won’t take me long, but getting the bread out…I’ll leave it to you.”

“I’ve got it!” The boy raced through to the kitchen, excited to finally have something to do to help.

Reborn shook his head and walked down to the bedroom. “I kinda of hoped we’d avoid this…” he said, knowing very well Colonello was awake. “But at least you were able to hold out until the end of the day…”

“I tried my best…” The blonde hopped out of his partner’s arms when they were in the room, not at all caring that he was naked.

“He must have seen you transform a lot for him to be so…Casual about it.” Reborn commented as he opened the drawer he kept their Arcobaleno sized clothes in.

“I did transform more than I care to admit…” Colonello hopped up and looked for something to wear. “At first, he didn’t know how to feel about it…But then, he didn’t know how to feel about me, either. The military put nothing but lies into his head before he met me.”

“Like what? You were a traitor for abandoning the military back then?” Reborn crossed his arms with a huff. “You were injured out in the field…It was all getting to you psychologically. If you had gone back there, you probably wouldn’t have made it out.”

“I know that…But it isn’t like they care very much about psychological damage…They dragged a 16 year old child into war.” He pulled on sweat pants and a hoodie to match. “I’m ready!” He hopped back into Reborn’s arms and looked up at him with a big smile. “None of it matters now…We’re home and nothing can change that.”

Reborn kissed his forehead. “You’re right…We’ll just have to keep a close eye on Felix to keep him from going down the paths we did.” He walked back down to the kitchen and found Felix sitting in wait for them with the bread out and cooling on the counter. “Thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome!” The excited look on his face, and the way his hair spiked up from sleeping, made him look like a puppy. “It all smells incredibly good, Mr. Reborn.”

Reborn set Colonello down on the counter. “I’m so glad you’re not a picky child…” He ran his fingers through Felix’s hair to try and tame it. “Both of you need a haircut…”

“It’s normal for me to look like a shaggy dog,” Colonello joked. “But Felix was so well groomed when I first met him…It’s definitely a little weird.”

“I-it’s hard to be picky when the people around you are so good with food…” Felix replied, a light blush forming in his cheeks. “To be honest, I have never had my hair this long before…I’ve come to ignore it…But I wouldn’t mind a haircut.”

“We can do that this week.” Reborn hobbled over to the stove to turn it off. “Nothing better than a fresh haircut to signify starting over.” He grabbed the bowls he had nearby and started to fill them with soup. “Felix, would you mind slicing up the bread for me?”

“N-no! Not at all!” The boy nearly tripped as he got off the stool to join the man at the stove. “All I need is a knife.”

“First drawer,” Colonello piped up. If anything were to stay the same, he knew which drawers Reborn liked to keep his utensils. “Just don’t hurt yourself…” He hopped onto Felix’s shoulder so he could watch.

“I won’t hurt myself…” Felix grabbed the knife and started to cut the bread. “I know how to cut bread.” And he did. The bread was cut into beautiful slices without much error. “See! I know what I’m doing!” He huffed and sliced another piece but let his finger get too close to the blade. The cut was small, but started to bleed instantly.

The small blonde nearly fell off the boy’s shoulder from laughter. “Ohh my god…”

“It’s not funny,” he said around his finger, which he instinctively put into his mouth to stop the bleeding. “You were mocking me!”

Reborn heaved a sigh. “What am I going to do with you two?” He handed Felix a towel to wrap his finger into for the time being. “If you haven’t noticed, your father is very much still a child.”

“Yeah, but he’s forgotten he’s the size of one, too.” Felix grabbed Colonello from his shoulder before he could get away and chuckled at the  _ oh shit _ he mumbled in response. He took mercy, however, and only flicked him in the middle of the forehead.

“Now, now…Go sit down, both of you…” Reborn shooed them away. “I won’t have you horsing around in my kitchen.”

Colonello snickered. “Look who’s causing trouble now! There’s no doubt that you’re my son.” He sat on the counter so he could eat with them.

“I just know better than to let you get away with stuff like that…” Felix crossed his arms and leaned forward against the counter. “The troublemaker is still you.”

Reborn placed bowls in front of them with the spoon already inside. “Eat up and don’t be afraid to ask for more.” He was highly amused by the banter between the two. They sounded more like old friends than they did father and son. He brought the bread to the counter before grabbing his own bowl and joining them to eat.

“It’s so good!” Felix could barely believe something like soup could be so flavorful. “The bread, too! It’s so light…” He looked up at Reborn like the man was an idol. “You’re a food genius.”

“Th-this is hardly anything special…” Reborn muttered, avoiding Felix’s stare. “Thanks though…”

“The fact that everything is homemade makes it special.” Felix went quiet after that, finding it hard to not practically inhale the food he was given. He was the first finished because of it, and even with seconds he was nearly finished by the time the others had gotten through their first bowl. He helped cleanup after dinner and retired to his room for the night so he could shower and make some last minute arrangements in his room.

* * *

 

 

Felix stared at his reflection in the mirror. Being in the military had helped him lose the baby fat around his cheeks and jawline. It made his eyes sharper and not so innocent looking. His hair was quite long and unruly, like that of his father. He was lanky and barely there bulk wise, but he knew over time he would fill out again. He sighed and left the bathroom to get dressed for the night. The place wasn’t so plain anymore. They’d bought paintings and posters that he could stick on the walls to give it some personality. He had a desk with a small lamp and a brand new computer. The sheets on his bed were chosen by him and the closet was filled with clothes and shoes. He had everything he would need for a while.

He didn’t really have anything left to set up in his room. He sat at his desk and watched as the computer screen came to life. He wanted news. He wanted to know what the damage was to his hometown. He spent the next few hours scrolling through news reports and everything he could find.

* * *

 

 

Felix was up until sunrise compiling stories and reports about the things happening with the war against Russia. He didn’t want to be involved anymore, but the fact they were still destroying innocent people’s homes and lives was too much to keep out of his mind.  _ What if it happened here? All these people…Would the Mafia really be able to stop it? _ A thud pulled him from his thoughts and he looked around. He got up from his desk and stepped out into the hall cautiously. “Hel—” The sound of laughter stopped him from going further.  _ At least it isn’t anything serious… _ He made his way down to the kitchen and decided to make himself coffee. He didn’t want to admit he never slept.

Colonello walked into the kitchen (back to normal) with a big smile on his face a little while later. “Good morning! How did you sleep last night?”

“I slept great! The room feels much more…comfortable, since I got to put it the way I wanted it.” Felix set the cup down and covered his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh out loud. “You sure wasted no time in getting reacquainted…”

He looked down at his bare chest and laughed. “Oh…Yeah…” The hickies and scratch marks were very visible against his skin. “If you think  _ this _ is bad, you should see the other guy…” He opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a bottle of juice. “I can’t help it, y’know…He’s just damn good looking.”

Felix shook his head, trying not to seem amused. “You only did it because Celia wasn’t around…I know better than to investigate when I hear  _ noises _ from my parent’s room.” He finished his coffee and got up to clean the cup out before putting it in the dishwasher. He caught a glimpse of the man’s back and lost his composure. He had to lean on the counter to keep from falling over. “God what did you  _ do _ ??”

Colonello couldn’t look at his back, but tried anyway. “What? What are you talking about?”

The boy couldn’t hold himself up and ended up with his back against the cabinets beneath the sink, hands on his stomach while he laughed. “It—it looks like you were mauled by a wild animal!”

“What is Felix on the floor over?” Reborn asked as he entered. “Oh—Geez, Colonello, you could have put a shirt on before you left the room.” He placed a hand over his face. It was to hide his embarrassment more than anything else. “Your son doesn’t need to see your hickies…”

“Whaat? These are wounds I wear proudly!” Colonello placed his hands against his hips. “I can’t be ashamed of something so beautiful.”

Felix was caught up in another bout of laughter, barely able to breathe.

“If I didn’t have this bum leg, I would kick both your asses…” Reborn walked over and tried to nudge him away from being directly in front of the fridge so he could get into it. “Go shower and put a shirt on…”

Colonello grabbed Felix from the floor and placed him over his shoulder. “Abort mission! Subject is armed and dangerous!”

“I’ll show you dangerous!” The older man swung at them with his cane. “Put your son down and get out of here.”

The blonde raced out of the kitchen and down the hall, Felix still over his shoulder. “I’ll protect you!”

Seeing the scratch marks up close didn’t help Felix gain any composure. “D-daaad! You’re killing me!!” He looked up and saw Reborn stalking after them and squeaked. “H-he’s coming!”

“Stop running! I can’t kick your ass this way!”

Colonello got into Felix’s room and shut the door with the lock secured before he tossed the boy onto his bed. “We’ll be safe in here.”

Felix took a few breaths, calming down from everything. “You’re so mean…” He sat up and realized the bed looked no different than it had the day before. He never touched it.  _ Crap… _

“Open up!” Reborn called, tapping the door. “I’m not going to kill you!”

Colonello leaned against the door. “What’s the password?”

“Password??” Felix scrambled to get under the covers to make it look like it was at least slightly used.

“Fuck off, ‘Nello!” Reborn tried the door handle.

“Wow, that was fast.” Colonello unlocked the door and quickly made his way over to Felix’s bed to climb onto it. He got behind the boy quickly. “Good call! Cushion the blow.”

“W-what! I’m not going to be your shield!”

Reborn entered the room slowly. “Come on, don’t be a coward, love…It’s just more wounds for you to wear proudly.”

Felix knew he wasn’t being serious, but there was something in the pointed glare and the way he carried himself, even with a cane, that seemed all too real.  _ Put a gun in his hand and that would suit really well… _

“Pshh me? A coward?” Colonello shook his head. “No such word exists in my vocabulary…” He pulled Felix in front of him even more. “You wouldn’t hurt an innocent bystander!”

“Y-hey! I didn’t ask for this!” The youngest looked up at the oldest as he approached.  _ Yep, he definitely has a scary aura.  _ “M-mercy…Please have mercy…”

“ _ No such word exists in my vocabulary… _ ” Reborn lifted his cane and brought it down on both their heads with ease. “That’ll teach you to fuck with me this early…”

Colonello fell over, holding Felix tight. “We made a mistake…”

“We??” Felix was rubbing his head where the cane hit it. “ _ You _ made a mistake and dragged me into it!”

“I should know better than to mess with a Hitman…”

“Oi!” Reborn stared at Colonello incredulously. “Quit telling everyone’s secrets!”

“Oh, shit…I forgot…”

Felix watched Reborn momentarily.  _ A…Hitman? That suits too well… _ “You’re a Hitman?” He thought about it. “ _ Were _ a Hitman?”

The oldest heaved a sigh and sat on the bed. “Yes, I was a Hitman…I retired after my stroke because I knew I couldn’t do it anymore…And not that I was really doing anything along the lines of being a Hitman anymore anyway. Tsuna’s training was my top priority.”

“Wow…I want to say I’m surprised but…” The youngest laughed sheepishly. “The way you carried yourself was so…Poised. Your aura was so intense.”

“Hrm…” Reborn crossed his arms and looked at his husband. “So, are you done yet?”

“Yeahh…” Colonello got up from the bed and leaned over to ruffle Felix’s hair. “You’re a terrible shield.”

“You’re not supposed to use your child as a human shield,” Felix stated with a laugh and sat up again. “So yeah, I assume I would be a terrible shield.” The bed around him was a mess and he felt relieved. Neither of them seemed to suspect a thing.

“Go take a shower, you stubborn man…” Reborn was practically shoving Colonello out of the room. “I’ll be making breakfast! Come out when you’re ready!” He shut the door behind him. “Sometimes I wonder how old you actually are.”

“Lighten up! Felix enjoyed it.” Colonello pushed open their room door. “I would have stopped if he didn’t seem interested…But…I have the feeling this makes him happy. I don’t remember anything about his mother, but he seems ready for structure and discipline.” He leaned against the door frame. “That’s why he asks you for things to do…He’s not used to being taken care of. I think doing this kind of thing is going to help him ease into his new life…Being weird is what I do best and I will use it to my full advantage.”

“I trust you.” Reborn kissed him quickly. “You’re too cute for me to be mad at…Go get ready…I have a project for us to do.”

* * *

 

 

Two days later and Felix still hadn’t slept. The idea of  _ it could happen here too _ and  _ I’m going to lose everyone again  _ were swirling around his head almost constantly. The exhaustion was beginning to pose a threat to him, though he would hide it as long as he could.  _ I swear I’ll sleep tonight…somehow… _ He stopped walking and looked up. He had bumped right into his father’s back and hadn’t even noticed. The market around them was loud and full of people, and to only run into Colonello was a blessing. “Sorry.”

“Are you alright? You seem a little distant…” Colonello took him by the shoulders and looked him over. “Is it just crowded in here? It’s okay if you go and wait out by the entrance. We shouldn’t be much longer.”

Felix nodded, but only because he was finding it hard to concentrate on one thing. “Yeah, I’ll go wait outside.” He managed to get through the crowd of people to the entrance and then stood out in the sunlight. His head felt less stuffy without so much noise going on around him. He decided to take a look at what was nearby to occupy himself while he waited, that way he wouldn’t just fall asleep while standing. He zoned out again while staring at the birds that were playing in the snow. He felt something grab his shoulder and he nearly jumped out of his skin. “Who—” He turned only to see the familiar silver hair of Tsuna’s husband. “O-oh, Mr. Gokudera!”

“Oi, we’re nearly the same age…You can call me Hayato.” Gokudera looked around, not spotting anyone he knew. “Where are the others?”

“They’re in the market. It was a little too noisy for me, so I came out here.” Felix rubbed the back of his neck. “What brings you here?”

“Tsuna needed something from the market so I came to get it for her.” He looked the boy over quickly. “Don’t stray too far away…It’s easy to get lost around here.”

“Y-yeah, I won’t!”

“Hey! Gokudera!” Colonello walked up and placed his arms around the man’s shoulders. “Nice to see ya.”

“Hey, yeah, you too.” Gokudera gave him a slight smile. “You guys heading home?”

“Not yet…” Reborn appeared beside Colonello. “We still have a few more errands to run. Looks like you’re out doing the same.”

“Just got a few things to grab here and then I’m going back.” He looked at Felix one more time before moving around them. “Well, good luck!”

“You too!” Colonello chuckled and glanced at Felix. “That was nice…Did you find anything interesting out here?”

“N-no, not really. There were a couple of birds playing in the snow…” Felix laughed quietly and stepped forward. “Let’s go to the next place! There’s nothing I want to see here.”

“Okay.” Reborn turned in the direction they were to go next. “Sorry if this is really boring, Felix…But it is nice to get out of the house, especially when the weather isn’t too bad.”

“Uh-huh…” The boy was only at half-attention. He was more worried with the way his vision was swimming and his head began to feel light. He only got a few more steps in before his vision blacked out and his body went numb. He never felt himself hit the ground.

Neither man noticed Felix’s condition behind them until they heard the boy fall and his body hit the cold pavement.

“Felix!” Reborn called out, the first to drop everything and go to his aid. “Felix!”

Colonello knelt down beside him, his body filled with panic but just as still as it always was. “Felix…Kid…” He lifted him from the ground to his arms. There was already a bruise forming on his face from hitting the ground. “Come on…say something…”

Gokudera heard the commotion and ran up behind them. “What happened??”

“We don’t know…He just…collapsed.” Reborn was watching his husband struggle to understand what was happening.

Felix opened his eyes slightly and looked up at them. “Dad…”

“Felix, it’s okay! I’m right here.” Colonello could feel his body starting to shake. “Kid, what happened?”

“You should get him home…It’s cold out here…” Gokudera moved to grab the things they’d dropped on the ground. “Did you drive down here?”

“No, we walked. We wanted to enjoy the weather.” Reborn stood up slowly. “It’s really not very far from here.”

“I drove down here…The car is right over there. Please, let me help.”

“Okay.” The older man went back to Colonello. “Hey…Gokudera will take us home…Don’t worry, he’s going to be okay.”

Colonello stood up, holding his son tight. “Let’s hurry.”

* * *

 

 

At home, Colonello was quick to bring Felix to his bedroom and got him into bed. “Felix…What happened…?”

Felix was barely conscious. “Mm….”

Reborn brought in a bag of ice in a cloth for the bruising. “Has he said anything?”

“No…” The blonde took it from him and placed it against the boy’s face gently. “I-I don’t understand what’s happening…”

Felix mumbled something incoherent as he cringed at the feeling of cold against his hurting face. “Nn…Dad…”

“What is it?” he responded quietly. “Are you okay?”

“I’m…okay…” The youngest in the room opened his eyes and observed the others. “I…haven’t slept…” He was ashamed to admit it, but he knew he couldn’t hide it anymore. “I’m sorry…”

“Haven’t slept?” Reborn pulled the desk chair over and sat down. “You’ve only been here a few days…Do you mean since the second night?”

“I…I didn’t sleep…that night…” Felix could feel the tears prickling at his eyes. “It’s been three days…”

“Three…” Colonello could feel himself shaking again. “Haven’t slept in three days…” Part of him was relieved that it wasn’t anything worse, but the other was still lost, still concerned. “You should rest, then…You’ll just feel worse if you keep fighting it.” He pulled the icepack away. He watched as Felix fell back to sleep in no time, dragged by his own body’s need for sleep. He got up from the bed and moved silently through the room and out the door.

Reborn got up and followed him as quickly as he could and left the door open slightly in case he needed them. “Colonello…” He caught up to him and grabbed his arm. “Hey, look at me.”

“I’m okay…I’m just glad it wasn’t worse.” He refused to look up from the floor. The grains in the wood were the only thing keeping him from breaking down. “He just needs to sleep for a little while…”

“Stop it.” Reborn moved to stand in front of him to give him no choice but to look. “You know how dangerous this behavior is. Please…Please don’t do this.” He dropped his cane hugged him tight. “Please…I need you to talk to me…”

Colonello’s shoulders slumped in defeat and his arms drooped at his sides. His entire body grew weak under the pressure of his emotions. He quickly buried his face in Reborn’s shoulder. “I was so scared…”

The older man drew his fingers through the younger’s hair while his other hand remained on his back. “It’s okay to be scared…But you’re right, Felix is okay. He just needs to rest.”

“I feel so guilty…I noticed he wasn’t acting like himself…But I just brushed it off.” He dropped the bag of ice and wrapped his arms around Reborn. “Just like when you had the stroke…I didn’t notice what I should have…I could have done something…”

“It’s not always your job to be the hero, Colonello…” Reborn kept his soothing hand motions going. “You can’t always see what’s happening…You have no reason to feel guilty…Felix is grown, he can speak on his own problems…But he didn’t.”

“He’s hurting…He can’t sleep…” The man sounded surprisingly calm for someone falling apart. “What are we doing wrong…?”

“He’s adjusting to a brand new life…You said it yourself…It’s going to be hard for him…It seems he’s caught up in his thoughts and can’t get himself to sleep…We’ll figure out a way to help him…We just have to talk to him.” Though he knew getting the information they wanted would be harder than he made it sound. He pulled away from him and placed his hands on his face. “Both of our kids are incredibly lucky that you’re their father…There’s no universe where I wouldn’t want to do this all over again.”

“M-maybe in a another universe we weren’t so messed up in the beginning…” Colonello reached up and wiped at his eyes. “But that means a lot coming from you…Our kids are lucky to have you as a mother, too.” He laughed weakly.

“Come on…Let’s go make something for lunch…That way when Felix wakes again, he’ll be able to eat.” Reborn eased himself down to get his cane and the discarded bag of ice. “If I must be mother,” he stated as he stood. “At least I’m damn good looking.”

A smile crossed Colonello’s face. “Hell yeah you are…You’re everyone’s favorite MILF.”

Reborn groaned and started to walk away. “Never ever say that again.”  _ I’m glad you’re okay right now…But I know it isn’t over yet. _

* * *

 

 

Felix woke hours later, and beyond the pain from his face, he was feeling better. He could see the sun filtering dark orange through the window across the room. The day was already nearly over. He took his time with sitting up and even standing. The dizziness and fuzziness in his head was gone. He wobbled his way down the hallway, occasionally using the wall for support until he reached the living room. “Hey…”

Both men looked up, but Colonello was to his feet first. “Felix, you need to stay in bed…” He was instantly in front of the boy, his hands out to help him if he needed.

Felix jumped forward and grabbed onto his father and made sure his face was hidden away. “I’m sorry!” he cried. His sobbing was mostly muffled by the man’s shirt, but there was no mistaking he had held in too much for too long.

“F-Felix…” Colonello hugged him tight. “I’m not angry…I couldn’t be upset with you even if I tried…” He could feel the boy shaking in his embrace. He dragged him over to the couch and made him sit down so he was between himself and Reborn. “I’m just glad you’re okay…”

“You gave us quite a scare…” Reborn added, gently running his hand across Felix’s back. “We didn’t know what to think…But he’s right, we’re by no means angry with you…We’re just worried about you.”

“I’m…I’m so scared…” There was a sniffle before Felix continued. “My home…My mother…I don’t want it to happen again…” He started to sob again. “I can’t lose you guys too…You’re all I have left…”

“We won’t let that happen…” Reborn frowned deeply and let his hand come to rest on Felix’s shoulder. “I wish we could extend that power everywhere…To protect everyone…But we can’t. It’s impossible. I can assure you, though, that we’re safe here.”

“We’re not going anywhere…I promise.” Colonello held Felix’s face and wiped away his tears. “I was afraid today…I was terrified I was going to lose you…It’s okay to be afraid. It’s natural…I want you to know that everything will be okay.” He smiled at him and a few of his own tears fell. “Don’t worry that you’re going to burden us with your problems…We’re here to help you overcome them. Don’t forget that.”

“I won’t.”

Felix had no problems sleeping after that.

* * *

 

 

(Months Later)

“Wake up!”

Green eyes opened to peer into chocolate brown ones. “I’m up…”

“Good!” The little girl backed up, far enough to grab hold of the covers. “Come on, come on come on!”

Felix sat up and ran his fingers through his sleep spiked hair. “It’s not even sunny outside…Why are you awake?”

“You promised we would wake up early so we could make our surprise!” Celia huffed, puffing her bottom lip out in her signature pout.

“I did promise…” He yawned and pushed away the covers. “We’ll have to stay quiet, though…You know they won’t like being woken up before the sun rises…”

“I know!” She hugged her older brother before he could stand. “We can be super quiet,” she said in a whisper.

He laughed and stood up and pulled her from the bed. “Let’s go, then…We have to find a place to hide it.”

“My closet!”

“You know very well they’d go looking in your room if you acted suspicious…” Felix walked from his room and into the hall.

“How about the backyard?”

“The dog would chew it all up.”

"Hmmm….” Celia scrunched up her face as they walked into the kitchen, thinking hard. “Under your bed!”

“Now you’re thinking…” He grabbed two plastic glasses from the cabinet for juice before they would begin. “Do you want orange or apple?”

“Apple!” She sat at the table and drummed her fingers against the wood. “Do you think they’ll like it?”

“I think they’ll love it…”

 “That’s not how paste works, Celia!” Felix laughed, pulling the paper that was sticking to her hand away. “It’s supposed to go on the paper and then on the craft.”

“It got stuuuck…” Celia pinched her fingers together, feeling the resistance made by the glue as she tried to pull them apart. “You try being covered in glue.”

“Don’t get covered in glue,” he stated and stuck the paper to the rest of the other scraps. “Now we just have to let it dry…I’ll place it in my room so that it can dry and they won’t see it.”

“Okay!” Celia hopped up. “I’m going to wash all of this paste off my hands!”

“You do that and we can start making breakfast.”

 

Reborn was up first, as he was most mornings. He hobbled down the hall with the aid of his brace. The first thing he noticed was the kitchen smelled delightful, and second, it was an absolute mess.

“Morning, Papa!!” Celia called, waving a flour covered hand. “We’re making breakfast!”

“I see that…” He stepped into the room. “I hope  _ you’re _ not breakfast…”

“Nooo!”

Felix laughed and looked over. “I tried to stop her but it was inevitable…”

“I commend your efforts…” Reborn sat heavily on one of the chairs. “What’s the special occasion?”

Celia brought over a glass of juice and set it on the table. “It’s just special!”

“It’s just special? Hmm…” He grabbed her and pulled her into his lap. “You’re not going to tell me?”

“Noope.”

“I’ll just have to find out then…” Reborn rested his chin on top of her head, holding her in place with his arms wrapped around her. “It’s a good thing your big brother Felix is making our breakfast, because now I get to hold you hostage.”

“Feeeeliiixxxx!”

“I can’t do anything about that…” Felix looked at her apologetically. “Sorry.”

“Boy does it smell good in here…”

“Daddy! Save me!” Celia held her hands out to Colonello pleadingly.

“Oh boy, what did Felix let you get into this time?” Colonello laughed, actively avoiding the floury hands held out to him.

“She wanted to become the breakfast…” Felix said and looked over. “It’s almost finished.”

“They’re plotting against us…They’re making breakfast, and they won’t even say what it’s all about…I think something’s wrong.” Reborn grabbed the glass of juice and sipped from it.

“We’re not plotting against you…” Felix laughed. “I thought it would be nice to make breakfast for you guys for once…To say thank you, you know?”

“Oh yeah, there’s definitely something wrong…” Colonello walked over to peek at what he was making before looking him over.

“Whaat?” Felix turned his back slightly. “The only thing wrong is you’re being nosey.” He huffed and tried to nudge him away. “Go sit down like everyone else…”

Reborn laughed out loud at Felix’s behavior. “This is really serious, ‘Nello. Let him do his thing.” He let Celia down from his lap. “You should go wash off, since it seems breakfast will be ready soon.”

“Right!” Celia ran up to Felix and smiled when he gave her a nod. “I’ll be back!” She raced down the hall to get washed off, and then she would retrieve their  _ surprise _ from Felix’s room.

Colonello sat down and watched Felix prepare their plates. “This really is nice of you guys to have breakfast made for us…”

“You guys are always doing everything for us, so we wanted to return the favor…” Felix set the plates down in front of them. “I tried my hands at crepes…They didn’t turn out half bad…And I know you’re staying away from sweets as much as possible, so I used fruit for the syrup.”

“Where did this talent come from?” Reborn was mesmerized by the dish in front of him. “The presentation is beautiful…”

“Ahh…yeah…I never told you, but I was one of the top culinary arts students in my level…” The boy laughed sheepishly. “If the war hadn’t happened, I would have been going into school to get a degree in food science…”

“What!? And you failed to mention this because??” Colonello was just as shocked as Reborn was.

“I-I didn’t see it as that important!”

“I’m back!” Celia ran into the room, her hands held behind her back. The gift they made was big enough to be seen even when hidden. “Can I give it to them?”

“Of course.” Felix patted her head encouragingly.

She pulled the large card from behind her back and held it out. “We made you a card!”

On the front was a heart made from pasted paper scraps and the words “THANK YOU” in big, caps letters.

Reborn took it and held it so Colonello could look at it too. They were both silent as they read the messages inside.

“There’s a lot that I could say to you guys…and I didn’t think a normal card would fit it all. So we made a big one, and I had Celia help me and add her own message…She’s just as thankful to you as I am.” Felix pulled her onto his back.

“We love you, daddy and papa!”

Reborn got up to hug Felix first, his eyes filled with tears. “You sure know how to make this old man cry…”

Colonello plucked Celia off of his son’s back so he could hug her. “You guys sure did surprise us!”

“We did??” Celia smiled up at him with big, warm eyes. “Felix we did it!”

“Yeah, we did.” Felix hugged Reborn back since he had his hands free again. “I don’t have anything I didn’t say in there…Except maybe that I love you guys.” He laughed quietly. “I love you guys a lot…I never really understood what  _ love _ meant…I know my mom loved me, but until she was gone, I didn’t realize all the things she had done to show me.” He pulled away from Reborn. “But putting your life on the line for me many times…Your willingness to be afraid and to show your weakness around me…Those are the kinds of things I think love entails…So without you guys, I would have never learned just how beautiful love can be.”

“You’re a well spoken kid, that’s for sure…” Colonello ruffled Felix’s hair affectionately. “I wish I could have been there for you back then…To watch you grow up and turn into such an amazing, well…young man.”

“But it would be different…I wouldn’t be this way. It’s because you weren’t there that I turned out this way…I don’t think I would have changed that.” Felix had a goofy smile on his face. “Besides, this family is more than I could have ever asked for.” 

 


End file.
